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Room Mate Grace, Midtown West

$$$$

Concierge.com's insider take:

The quirky Spanish chain Room Mate Hotels has made a name for itself abroad with high-spec yet affordable design-conscious rooms, making its 2008 takeover of André Balazs's Hotel QT and its fun approach to frugality a muy fácil translation. Renovated and redubbed the Grace, the 139-room property attracts fashion-forward twentysomethings who can make do without room service, a concierge, and reliable (if free) Wi-Fi. Hallways sport trippy '70s geometric wallpaper, while rooms (doubles and three- or four-bunk layouts) carry the sass inside with additional patterns in various colors (golds, bordello reds, blues and greens, black and white), peekaboo rain showers, and faux-ostrich platform beds with storage underneath and Egyptian cotton bedding. The coup de Grace: a heated pool-cum-club and 24/7 sauna and steam room just off the lobby. With stepped seating, a swim-up bar, and PYTs splashing and sweating to DJs five nights a week, it's a dimly lit, clubby affair that could easily become the bane of business travelers. Each morning, the area transforms into a kitchen serving a pastries, meats, cheeses, eggs, and fruit, plus strong coffee and juice ($10). Gratis Granny Smiths at reception? Available anytime.—Justin Ocean